The Hermit And The Farmer
by Ancient Liddel
Summary: Sick and tired of the mundane city life, Claire impulsively moves onto a farm, located in the quaint little Mineral Town. Her life will never be the same, especially not after she is informed about a hermit living around. Just exactly who is this hermit?


** Sometimes one needs to start on another story in order to "motivate oneself" to continue with the other. ****(Don't kill me...)** Trust me though: my other long fic (ASNSS) is very much alive in my head: I _know_ what I'm going with it. I just haven't been able to... convey it, for want of a better term.  


**That, and, well, stuff happens... life happens... I'm sounding so depressing here... lol...  
**

**So, yeah: starting a new one. And I guess you can say it's a mystery... sort of, I dunno; it's an idea that's been stuck in my head for _the_ longest time and I just need to write it out... enjoy xD (I hope lol)  
**

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"Gah!" Claire exasperated as she slammed her apartment door shut, "Just, just – _I hate my job_! The same thing over and over. And the naggings! 'Claire, did you do this yet? Claire, I need this done, have you done it yet?' Claire this, Claire that – enough is enough!" She threw herself on her couch. "I'm sick of it all!"

Digging her head into a nearby throw-pillow on the couch, she sighed. Maybe she was overreacting. After all, this job was paying the bills and providing income to live on. It was practically _the_ only job she could get, since the economy was pretty bad. But that didn't mean she had to enjoy it.

She sighed again as she turned on her back. _I guess it could be worse..._ she thought, remembering what had happened to a co-worker. Rumor was he had been shipped to a place where there was no technology, forcing said co-worker to do everything by hand. Worse yet, the place was apparently in the middle of the most frigid part of the world also known as the many places where people commonly called 'the middle of nowhere.'

Course, that was only a rumor. Nobody knew the real story; and quite frankly, nobody, including herself, _wanted_ to know the real story.

Lazily, she felt around for the newspaper which she had placed on her coffee table earlier that morning. _Let us see what is new. Probably the same thing though... it always is in a city this boring. _Sighing, she flipped through the pages. Nothing caught her eye – not even an advertisement for a sale on shoes evoked any excitement in her, and it usually did. She soon folded the newspaper and chucked it back on the coffee table beside her.

She curled up further on the couch as she allowed her thoughts to drift to another world – a world where there was excitement and new things to do: a world which everything in it would always be different. A world in which _she_ was in control. She smiled at the thought of it.

Her smile quickly disappeared as soon as she heard what she had always heard at that particular time in the evening: yelling from her upstairs neighbors. "Just like clockwork..." she muttered to herself as she sat up.

She shook her head. "Surprise they are even still..." she trailed off as she noticed something interesting. Printed on the newspaper she had previously thumbed through was an elaborate advertisement for a farm? "...together." she managed to finish her sentence before snatching up the newspaper to get a closer look.

_Is your life boring? Is it filled with mundane, tedious tasks? Do you sometimes want to pull your hair and scream? If your answer to any or all these questions is "yes" then you, my friend, need a change. A complete change – a change so drastic you may have never even considered it._

"Oh my goodness, this is so cheesy." Claire mumbled. Yet she couldn't stop reading the advertisement.

_What you need is a farm. Just think about it: a far off place where you can do whatever your heart's desire. A place filled with peace and tranquility. A place to relax when and wherever you like. And the best part of this? You can even grow your own crops on a huge beautiful plot and even raise your own animals such as cattle, sheep, and even chickens! What an absolute bargain! So why wait? Call now! _Below the cheesy writing was a phone number.

Claire returned the newspaper on the table. "A farm, eh?" she spoke softly to herself. She got up and walked toward her nearby bookshelf. Picking up a framed photo, she sighed. "You two definitely would want me to take it. And you," she placed the current framed photo of her beloved grandparents back on the shelf and picked up another one, "you would just... you probably wouldn't even notice me gone from the city, since all you basically do is party day and night. You wouldn't miss me; and I'll be honest: I wouldn't miss you, well, at least not much." That photo was of her brother, Jack.

She placed the photo of her brother back on the shelf then looked back on the newspaper on her coffee table. She really could imagine herself on a farm. Growing crops and taking care of animals – it may be hard work at times, but she was confident that she could do it. And the best thing about it was the fact she would be her own boss. _Maybe I do need this kind of drastic change in my life..._

She made her decision then snatched the newspaper and headed towards her kitchen phone. She dialed the number written on the newspaper and waited for somebody to pick up. "Hello?" a male voice sounded through the phone. Claire stuck her finger in the one ear the phone wasn't on so that she could hear better: her upstairs neighbors _still _were arguing quite loudly.

"H-Hello?" She hadn't intended on stuttering; but for some reason, she was having a bit of trouble from keeping calm. She took a deep breath to gain more confidence and continued, "My name is Claire, and I'm calling about the-" she looked at the newspaper, "-Mineral Town farm that is up for sale..."

The man grew quiet, making Claire's heart sink a bit. Was the farm already sold? But then the man bellowed for joy, causing the poor blonde to drop the phone. She quickly picked it up. "I am very happy to hear this!" the man continued in his joy, "Now, let me tell you what to do."

Claire spent the rest of the night listening to the man on the phone and preparing everything for the move. She did not want to wait any longer than she had to. Determination to be in Mineral Town the next day coursed through her system. _Goodbye crappy job! Aaand-_

"Hello, my worst nightmare..." It was the next day when she arrived in Mineral Town – just like she had planned. Staring at the horrifying image of her new property, the blonde dropped the one suitcase she had taken with her on the ground. "I'll say this: Mamma always did say newspaper ads can't be trusted."

She blinked then groaned, "I must have been pretty desperate..."

"You must be the new owner of this _marvelous_ piece of land." a voice said behind her. _Marvelous? Clearly he's on pot..._

"Well, it once was. Three years ago." the voice continued as the little man stood beside her, "Oh, where are my manners – I'm the mayor of this quaint little town: Mayor Thomas."

"Claire." the blonde mumbled, not exactly wanting to make eye-contact with the little man.

The mayor cleared his throat, "I do really apologize for the state of this farm, Claire. I had no idea the ad had still been going until I got your call the other night. You see, since Old Man Henry died, no one's been here to take care of it. I've done the best I could, but there's only so much a busy mayor can do."

"You do realize that I gave up everything in the city, don't you?" she somewhat stretched the truth; she certainly didn't want him to know that she hated the city. "On the promise that this would be 'relaxing.' But this – the state of everything sings a different story..."

"Hard work never killed anybody." the mayor tried to joke but was unsuccessful.

"_This_ hard work will..." Claire muttered.

"Look," the mayor sighed, "you must've came out here for a reason, right?" Claire shrugged her shoulders. "Then why not give it a shot. What's the worse that could happen?"

_I can think of a few scenarios... _she thought about saying those words instead of just thinking them but decided against it. After all, he did have a point. She had come out there for a reason. Now certainly wasn't the time to second guess her decision. "Alright. Might as well. I've got nowhere to be."

"That's the spirit! Now there are a few things you should know. Zack – he'll take everything you put in bins like that one-" he pointed to wooden bin fairly near a building which appeared to be a house, "-and in return, he'll give you what you earned – he'll tell you everything you need to know much later." the mayor rambled.

"As you can see, you have a barn, stable, and chicken coop, and of course, where you'll be living." _Because I couldn't have figured _those _out myself..._ "Umm, if you like, I could give you a tour around town to help get acquainted with the people here."

"That's alright: I can manage on my own."

"I see. Well, I don't think I'm forgetting anything else. Just remember, Zack will be around later to inform you on other things. Oh, I should forewarn you, before you start exploring the forest nearby," Claire's ears perked up. _Finally, _something which sounded interesting. "we do have – well, I wouldn't say he's dangerous – just some hermit living out there. No one really goes out there, for fear that something terrible might happen – you know how some people's imaginations can be. I thought I would give you a friendly warning about the hermit."

"Well, with all the work I'll be doing, I doubt I will have the time to explore. But I do thank you for the heads up." _I am _so_ searching this guy out as soon as I get some free time._

"You'll find some time. Everyone here seems to at least some free time. Now not everyone uses it wisely. Anyways, I should get going. Just remember-"

"Yes, I know: stay away from the hermit." Claire paraphrased. The mayor smiled then headed off the farm.

_Not likely... _She made it her goal to find out who this hermit was and whether he even existed – well, one of her goals. "Time to settle in and start working." She sighed, picked up her bag, and headed towards her new house.

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**So that's that.  
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**I'll update this story as soon as I can; but don't expect a sudden update or anything like that. Okay? xD  
Just know that this too will forever be in my head till I write it all down – I know what I plan to do in this one.  
As always, thanks for reading – really, I do appreciate it: and feedback is most certainly welcomed! :)  
**

**Till we cross paths again.**


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